About

The International Association for Social Work with Groups, Inc. is the premier international association for social workers and allied helping professionals engaged in group work. The purpose of this non-profit, member-driven organization is to promote excellence in group work practice, education, field instruction, research and publication. The goals of this Association are realized through a program of action and advocacy at both the local and international levels.

In addition to our annual symposia on social work with groups, now in our 34th year, IASWG is involved in an ongoing program to promote and develop group work practice. Our online newsletter and is utilized to bring members current news and timely information about group work and IASWG. Our website provides access to important articles, original content, and teaching resources. The Proceedings, a volume of selected papers from each symposium, is published each year. In recent years two books has been prepared to assist in group work teaching and practice. These have been published cooperatively with the Council on Social Work Education, and are entitled: Teaching a Methods Course in Social Work with Groups by Roselle Kurland and Robert Salmon, and Group Work Education in the Field by Julianne Wayne and Carol S. Cohen. A revised version of the Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups, first published in 1999, was published in 2006 and is available online in English and Spanish. Group work journals and books, such as the journals Groupwork and Social Work with Groups, and the Encyclopedia of Social Work with Groups, are available through the respective publishers, Whiting and Birch and Routledge.

Many committees, chapters, and individuals are busy throughout the year. Members concentrated in fifteen areas in the world have organized chapters with active programs of workshops, communication, and action to develop practice and education. Other areas are in the process of organizing chapters. Also, of note, the John and Carol Ramey Endowment Fund has been established to provide ongoing support for the continuing development of IASWG.

Your membership supports our mission. We invite you to join IASWG either on-line or by completing and mailing your membership form along with payment.

Benefits of an IASWG Membership:

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Announcements

Making Waves: Group Work Stories of Social Justice - The Social Work with Groups journal is inviting narrative essays of 5 to 9 manuscript pages, about group work practice that facilitates social justice worldwide. Learn more.

Do you want to play a part in developing a new model of group work practice? You’re invited to be part of a research project by researchers at the University of Calgary. The purpose of this project is to discover how group work practitioners can utilize diversity to promote group development. Learn more.

THE TIME FOR GROUP WORK

The climate is changing. In many parts of the world, respect for people who are different from ourselves has diminished and communities feel fractured. Dialogue is too often replaced by bombings and vitriol; hate-filled populism blasts reasoned, respectful understanding. It is not difficult to see why many people feel alienated; they themselves are disrespected and disempowered by increasing inequality, job insecurity and a sense that the important decisions are no longer within their influence.

We need to find ways to become inclusive, to celebrate our differences and to generate a powerful sense of togetherness. There has never been a more urgent time to bring communities together towards a mutual understanding and a respect, not just for humanity, but for the planet as a whole. Social groupwork can create security where there is uncertainty, a feeling of belonging where there is alienation, and a vehicle for positive communal action where there is a sense of helplessness. It has been used to unite and give voice to people in the aftermath of conditions that seemed beyond repair. Through social groupwork, nations, communities and individuals can repair.

This is the hopeful message that IASWG and its members offer to the world. IASWG stands against oppression and disenfranchisement. As social groupworkers, we stand for and advocate for creating spaces for respectful dialogue to expand our worldviews and perspectives in community with each other.

Contact us. Let us know how you are using group work to repair the world. Ask us how we can help you in this process. It’s time for group work.